Collar of Bones
This is TeenageMutantNinjaKitties! 01:54, July 6, 2013 (UTC), and I did a drawing the other day, just a random thing, and I saw a story in that drawing. Maybe after I write this I will post it, but until then, here it is. I have all intentions to finish this fanfic. If I don't, then darn. :C This is dedicated to Rainy, Robo, and Firey for being supportive and helpful with constructive critism along the way of writing this and my other fanfictions. Allegiances ThunderClan Leader: Eaglestar- white tom with brown paws and eyes. Deputy: Nettlefur- dark gray tom with amber eyes. Medicine Cat: Softsky- pretty light gray-blue she-cat with yellow eyes. Apprentice, Brightpaw Warriors Troutfur- dark silver tom with blue eyes. Snakeheart- jet black tom with green eyes. Juniperleaf- light gray she-cat with bright emerald green eyes and black tail-tip. Nightleaf- dark gray she-cat with white ears and tabby stripes. Darkbramble- jet-black tom with dark blue eyes. Frostthorn- pure white she-cat. Apprentice, Redpaw Flameclaw- fiery orange she-cat with bright orange eyes. Hollyshade- bright red tabby tom with green eyes. Spiderweb- cream-colored tom with golden eyes and white paws. Apprentice, Shadepaw Berrytail- golden she-cat with blue eyes. Goldenglow- golden she-cat with gray ears and eyes. Fireant- dark red tom with green eyes. Apprentice, Hawkpaw Apprentices Brightpaw- pretty white and cream she-cat with one missing paw. Redpaw- red tom with green eyes and black ears, paws, and tail-tip. Shadepaw- dark gray tom. Hawkpaw- dark brown tabby tom with yellow eyes. Queens Fuzzyleaf- golden tabby she-cat (Mother of Leafkit and Shinekit) Falconflower- light brown tabby she-cat with green eyes. Elders Yewfoot- light yellow tom with green eyes. Dewheart- blue-gray she-cat. Canyonecho- orangish-brown tom with yellow eyes. ShadowClan Leader: Happystar- bright yellow she-cat with bright shining blue eyes. Deputy: Pinetail- light brown tom with green eyes. Medicine Cat: Hareclaw- dark mustard-yellow tom. Apprentice, Briarpaw Warriors: Ivybreeze- bright silver she-cat with golden eyes. Apprentice, Brackenpaw Blackpelt- jet black tom with green eyes. Skyheart- light blue-gray tom with shining yellow eyes. Apprentice, Frostpaw Blacknose- jet black tom with green eyes. Grassfur- thick-furred pale cream she-cat with blue eyes. Flutterleaf- pretty pale white she-cat with striking pale green eyes. Frogleap- pale gray tom. Apprentice, Treepaw Apprentices: Queens: Elders: Prologue The sound of pawsteps echoed around the small enclosed area. "Is something wrong, Yash?" a female voice cut through the silence like slicing paws. "They are not on time. You know this ceremony is important, Yahna," Yash replied, pacing back and forth throughout the space, tail cutting from side to side. He was a large cat, strong and sleek, his pelt was white with a long streak running down the back like a river cutting through a small terrain. His tail was very, very, long with a large tuft at the end. It looked much like a lion's tail except the tuft was bigger and fluffier. The feline's ears were longer and shaped thicker like rabbit's ears. Yash wore a collar with many bones of many other animals and some of his own kind. Yahna was a pure white female feline with bright golden eyes. "I know, Morgan isn't the most responsible of mothers. You should have chosen a different female to carry your kit. Morgan will destroy our ways." Yahna hissed smoothly. Yash stopped. "What did you just say about my mate?" he spat. Yash spun around and sliced his claws on Yahna's face. "You should know better than insulting her!" he raised his hackles and ears, agressively. Yahna shrunk to the ground. "I- I'm sorry sir. I will not insult the queen again." Yash turned away. "Good." Two shapes appeared out of the shadows. "Ah, Morgan and my son. You have finally decided to join us. Is my son ready for the ceremony?" "Our son has a name, he is called Speir. And yes, he is fully weaned and has his collar already." The larger feline purred. She was slightly smaller than Yash with a light gray forehead and black ears. She had the same tail-tuft that Yash had but her tail had small dark gray stripes. The smaller shape beside her slipped out of the shadows and revealed himself. He was sleek and handsome, with familiar looks to Yash. "You dare to present yourself to me without my permission young one?" Yash growled at the young kit. "Why shouldn't I? Is there a reason to be afraid of my own father? I am Speir, son of Morgan and you, almighty ruler Yash, leader of the Cialians. I have presented myself before you to earn my place. Am I not welcome?" Speir stalked away from his mother's side and sat under a high cliff above his head where a elder rested. Yash thought about slicing his claws over the bold kit's face, but he stopped himself. It had taken the kit much courage to present himself before him. "You are welcome. Have you prepared yourself for your ceremony? It takes blood for you to join the ranks of the Cialians." Yash inspected the kit who sat before him. The kit was about one third of his size, with black fur and a muzzle like Yash's own. His tail was unusually long, but that would be advantage in battle. His ears were jet black, showing that he would gain the spirit of his ancestors in battle. A large, thick collar hung around his neck, which his mother had prepaired with the teeth of dead prey. The kit kept his claws unsheathed, like many of the felines in the Cialians ranks. But in all, the kit showed spirit and bravery, something that would prove to make him an excellent addition to the Cialians. "I am completely ready. I will do whatever it takes to prove myself. Pain is just a distraction," The kit named Speir replied. Yash was impressed. "Good. I will call the Cialians together." Yash turned away from the kit and wailed the familiar meeting call. Just a long, loud, wail. Since they were in a canyon it would be easy to get the attention of the felines. Cialians began to stalk towards the normal meeting place. There were about ten of them in all, the Cialians was a new tribe. Once all of the felines were gathered, Yash begun. "Do you, Speir, son of noble Morgan and I, Yash, promise to protect the Cialians with your life for as long as it may be?" "Yes. I do." Speir replied. Yash nodded. "Then give me your paw." Yash recited. Speir held out his paw without hesitation. Yash unsheathed his claws and sliced them down each of the points in Speir's paw, then did the same to his own paw. He pressed Speir's paw onto the top of his bleeding paw. "We are united. You have promised to protect the Cialians with your life and now you are banned together with the spirits of our ancestors. They will be proud. Until you are fully trained in our ways, I will train you. You are he future leader of us. I hope to train you well." Yash finished and removed his paw from Speir's. "With this kit's blood we will defeat the Clans and the Cialians will rise! We have evolved, and we can use this to our advantage! The forest cats are smaller and weaker, with smaller claws as well as wits! We will be victorious!" Yash screeched to his Tribe. Then he turned to Speir. "You will lead us into the battle, straight into the heart of the storm. When you are mature I will expect great things from you, Speir, my son." Then Yash turned and disappeared into the shadows of night, with the parting cries of bloodlust behind him. Speir was not afraid. "They took my great ancestor Scourge from this world so we will take them from the world. They will pay with the price of their blood. They will rue the day they took Preston from me. Oh, they will pay." Speir had a glitter of madness in his eyes and a burning hatred in the core. New strength burned in his veins. It was as if the ceremony had put all the strength of his long gone ancestors in his blood. Then, Speir turned towards his mother and nuzzled her. "Lets go back to the den, I have some training to do tomorrow." Chapter One Flameclaw groaned and heaved herself out of her warm nest, out into the cold of camp. Her fiery orange fur glittered with specks of frost. "Why do we have to train in this cold? Eaglestar should just let us stay in our nest the whole day when the weather's like this." She complained and shook her pelt from side to side, trying to get the flecks of ice out of it. "Well, for one, the elders and kits can't feed themselves, and for two, you need to get your lazy pelt out getting some training. We've been lacking on that lately." The deputy, Nettlefur mused, also shaking out his dark gray pelt. For a moment Flameclaw thought he was angry with her, but then she saw the glint of amusement deep in his amber eyes. "Uh-huh." She snorted. Her nose stung with cold. Frost covered the ground and leaves around her as he chose a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and settled down at the edge of camp. Flameclaw was a young firey-orange she-cat with bright green eyes. She had one sister and one brother, Fuzzyleaf and Darkbramble. Fuzzyleaf was a golden tabby she-cat with two kits, Leafkit and Shinekit. Darkbramble was a jet black tom with dark blue eyes. "I want Troutfur, Hawkpaw, Nightleaf, and Snakeheart to patrol the RiverClan border, be careful to watch out for patrols, RiverClan is getting jumpy because of the leaf-bare lack of fish. I want Darkbramble, Hollyshade, Spiderweb, and Shadepaw to patrol the ShadowClan border. If you know ShadowClan they're always a Clan to be wary of. "I want Troutfur, Goldenglow, Berrytail, and Flameclaw to patrol WindClan. Be sure to hunt on your way back. We are running low on prey." Nettlefur finished with a swoop of his tail at the Fresh-kill pile. Flameclaw looked from her mouse to the fresh-kill pile and suddenly felt guilty, she should've given the mouse to the elders. "Come on, Flameclaw!" Troutfur called from the camp entrance, flicking his ears impatiently. "One moment, Troutfur! I need to give this mouse to the elders!" she replied, standing and quickly padding across camp and into the dark elder's den. A sweet voice called from the darkness. "Ah, greetings young Flameclaw. Is that mouse for us?" Flameclaw recconised the sweet old voice of Dewheart. "Yes." Flameclaw dropped the mouse and replied. "Oh, thank you. Can you inform Eaglestar that we need some gaps and leaves in the roof? It gets dark in here with leaf-bare and all." Dewheart purred. "Of course. I'll tell him as soon as I can. I have to go now but I will come by later with some fresh-kill for you three." Flameclaw dipped her head and padded away to go meet with her patrol. Troutfur nodded at her as she padded up. "Okay, lets go!" he ordered to the patrol. The other two patrols along with Nettlefur's hunting patrol had already left. Troutfur dived out of camp and raced towards the WindClan border. "He's so handsome, isn't he?" Goldenglow sighed. "He looks like a bossy furball to me!" Flameclaw purred. Goldenglow twitched her whiskers in amusement. Flameclaw's paws thrummed the ground stedily at the small group raced through the forest. Flameclaw wrinkled her nose as the moorland-y scent of WindClan struck her. "WindClan always was the strongest-smelling Clan, huh?" Berrytail swished his tail through the air as the group stopped at the WindClan border "Yea, they might even smell worse than you!" Troutfur teased his sister. "Huh!" Berrytail purred. Flameclaw heard pawsteps coming their way. "You there! What are you doing in WindClan territory!" A tom that Flameclaw knew as Voletail yowled aggressively. Flameclaw saw that there was three cats in the patrol with two warriors and one apprentice. "We are not on your territory, and we are just marking the border." Troutfur snarled. Berrytail was staring at the other warrior with a distracted look on her face. Flameclaw pushed the irritation away and looked at the tom. He was dark gray with black stripes and golden eyes. The sound of Troutfur growling shook her from her thoughts. "Both of you! Quit it! Mark the border then leave!" Flameclaw stepped in between the toms and bristled. Troutfur looked surprised. "Fine." he dipped his head at the three cats and sulked away to mark the border. "My name's Wolfstripe. Thank you for breaking that up." the other warrior meowed. Flameclaw flicked her ear. "I'm Flameclaw. If you know Troutfur, he would fight over a pine needle if he got the chance." she purred. "Same with Voletail." Wolfstripe flicked his tail at the tom who was disappearing into the bushes with the apprentice. "Well... I better go now." Flameclaw meowed awkwardly and padded into the bushes, desperate to get away from the tom's burning gaze. Troutfur, Berrytail, and Goldenglow sat waiting for her, a mouse in each of their jaws. "We froound er nerst." Berrytail mumbled around the fuzzy rodent. Troutfur lashed his tail. "We could have used some help." he growled accusingly. Flameclaw blinked. "Sorry. I'll hunt on the way back." "No, we got it. Just head back to camp." Berrytail meowed and shot her a glare. What's gotten into her? Flameclaw blinked. "Oh... okay." Flameclaw was startled. Troutclaw, Goldenglow, and Berrytail turned and began lopping towards Split-tree to continue hunting. Flameclaw waited until they disappeared into the bushes then turned to walk back to camp. Wolfstripe was just thanking me... It's not my fault they found a nest of mice when I wasn't there... ''She thought. Flameclaw bumped into a tree and fell on her rump. "Ow!" she meowed aloud. Flameclaw rubbed a paw over her nose, that had taken most of the impact of the pine. She hadn't even seen the tree there. Her nose was scraped and bleeding. Flameclaw sighed and stalked around the pine, cursing at her absent-mindedness. The sky was glowing with mid-day sunlight, that was filtering through the branches, illuminating the dark forest with a warm- but frosty- glow. Flameclaw hissed in surprise when a white flash at the edge of her vision appeared, only to look and see that it was a snowflake. She hunched her shoulders in embarrassment and quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching. Flameclaw sighed in relief when the saw that there wasn't. ''Leaf-bare's officially here. Lack of prey, sickness, and dying. Great. ''Flameclaw dug her claws into the pine needles below her paws. She hated leaf-bare for one reason. It was the season when her parents both died of greencough. A pang of anger hit her when she thought of the old medicine cat Thickfur refusing to heal them in any way. He had been exiled and automatically went to ShadowClan, renamed as their medicine cat as Hareclaw. Flameclaw had no idea why he refused to heal them, he was her mother Lilypetal's brother. Flameclaw heard a twig snap in the bush in front of her. A dark red blur knocked into her, pushing her to the ground. She seemed to fall in slow motion, yowling in surprise. Her muzzle slammed down into a rock, making her bite her tongue. Then the world went black. Chapter Two When Flameclaw opened her eyes the world was spinning and the light in her eyes was blindingly bright. Her jaw burned with agony and didn't feel quite right in a way. "Softsky, come quick! Flameclaw is awake!" a voice whispered urgently. Flameclaw tried looking towards the voice but her head felt too heave suddenly and flopped into the moss nest. "Ah, finally. We've been waiting days for you to wake up." Softsky's gentle voice purred. "You broke your jaw, it will heal normally if we set it in the right place for you." "Hrrow?" she struggled but her jaw wouldn't move the way she wanted it to. It was taped up with cobwebs and covered with some bitter-smelling herbs. She got a chance to look around the medicine den. Redpaw, Darkramble, and Fuzzleaf were the only cats in the den other than Softsky. "Well... uh... I was hunting, and I was chasing after a mouse, but when I sprang out of the bushes to catch it, I ran into you. I dragged you back to camp because you were bleeding out of your mouth. I was so scared!" Redpaw exclaimed. Flameclaw drowsily gazed at the handsome young tom. "Thank you. You saved my life." she meowed weakly, struggling to speak around the bursts of pain and cobwebs. "I couldn't let a Clanmate die!" Redpaw purred proudly. Flameclaw smiled, but it ended up looking like a lopsided snarl. She thought for a moment. "Whern I arm berter, I wrll tarlk ter Earglestar abert yer werrier cermerny." she struggled out. "She said, when she is better she will talk to Eaglestar about your warrior ceremony." Softsky purred. Redpaw leapt with excitement. "Really? Wow, thanks!" Redpaw himself was about thirteen moons old and his warrior ceremony was overdue. Flameclaw and Redpaw should have become warriors at the same time but Eaglestar said he would take it one litter at a time. Flameclaw could remember them playing in the nursery together and Redkit bowling her over onto her back. Flameclaw's eyelids drooped and she rested her head in her paws. The cats in the den all shared a glance and padded soundlessly into camp. Flameclaw stared out into the camp where her friends had disappeared, wishing that she could go join them for battle training or hunting. Snow gently begun dusting the camp, sparkling in the pale moonlight. The sky was filled with fluffy gray snow clouds, reminding Flameclaw of her mother's fuzzy pelt. Flameclaw breathed in the night air, enjoying the frosty scent along with the scent of honeysuckle. Flameclaw's soft green eyes fluttered shut, slipping into an unsettled, dark dream. Her dreams were troubled, showing the same thing over and over, of her mother and father gasping for breath and falling over, dead. "Be careful, little Flameclaw. You could be next." an ominous voice began howling with laughter hysterically. Then Flameclaw would scream in terror as a shadow lept towards her and slit her throat. She woke up sweating, with her ears pricked for any sounds or movements around camp signalling any intruders or attackers. She heard Softsky turn in her nest, but other than that, no sounds dared break the hollowing silence of night. And of course, her jaw throbbed the pain from her injury as expected. Flameclaw was still troubled, cold from the snow outside brushing her fur like an icy wind. Snow had stopped falling and a thick layer of it coated the ground, shining through a thin place in the clouds that parted to show the moon. Chapter Three A medium-sized feline gazed up at a gigantic feline, legs trembling. "Don't be so weak, Ashton." The large feline sneered. "Yes, Speir." the smaller feline meowed. The smaller feline was handsome, with a long tail and dark green eyes. He looked nothing like his father, Yash, except the familiar muzzle shape and eye shape. With black fur but with white chest and front-paws. "I would think that since you were my brother you would have at least ended up like father, but no. You are a weak ''kit." Speir taunted. Ashton shrunk back, hurt. Speir was perched on a cliff in the canyon, for he was the leader's son, second ruler of the Cialains. Speir lept down so he was besides Ashton.. Speir sneered at Ashton and clawed him across the face. "Now get out of my sight." Ashton mewled in pain and hared away blindly, bleeding heavily from the four gashes in his muzzle. He sprang onto the lowest cliff in the canyon, scrabbling for any claw holds. Eventually, he was at the top of the canyon, hauling himself to the very top of the canyon, where he could see his older brother flirting with one of the female Cialians. Ashton openly hissed his hatred at his brother, from the top of the canyon where Speir has no idea he was. Ashton thought for a moment. Where can I go? Not back to my family... they are too secretive, they never tell me anything. Maybe I can go to that forest over the hills that Yash and everyone are always talking about... Ashton nodded to himself and began cleaning his wounds. He would leave tomorrow. Chapter Four The next two moons passed slowly and horribly for Flameclaw. She was only allowed in the medicine den and the dirtplace. Eat, sleep, dirtplace was her regular plan. Even eating was hard to do with her jaw. She had to crush up the food so she could swallow it whole, because she couldn't use her broken jaw. So that took eating mice out of the question, with their tiny bones that she could choke on. But about seven moons after the accident, Softsky walked in, took of the thick layer of cobwebs that she had been changing frequently, and said "You can go." Flameclaw jumped up in joy, scattering her moss nest. "Really?" she yelped. Softsky nodded. "But let me check you first." Softsky put her paw under Flameclaw's chin, lifting it up. The scraped skin was completely healed, with only a scar to show the event had ever happened. "Open your mouth." Flameclaw did. "Does it hurt?" "Not at all." "Okay." Softsky checked her tongue. "You can go, but take it easy." Flameclaw lept up and hared out of the medicine den as if a million WindClan warriors were on her tail. She was so happy to finally be able to leave the medicine den and not constantly be monitored to make sure she didn't do something stupid. "Flameclaw's out of the medicine den!" Redpaw called. Cats stuck their heads out of their dens to see what Redpaw was calling about. "Flameclaw! Are you healed?" Darkbramble padded us. She nodded and began purring happily. "Wanna go hunt?" Flameclaw nodded eagerly and the two siblings padded out of camp. Flameclaw scented the air, enjoying the fresh scent. Pines surrounded her, ferns gently brushing her pelt, as if welcoming her back. She sighed, happy to be out of the medicine den and back into the forest she was happy to call her home. Darkbramble looked at her. "I smell a mouse over here, catch up with you soon." he meowed and padded away into the forest, shadows veiling his dark coat. Flameclaw flicked her ears, scenting the air for any prey. Nothing stirred in the forest around her, only the sound of birds chirping high up in trees broke the echoing silence. Flameclaw scented a mouse beside a pine root. She quickly dropped into a crouch and stalked forward, silent as the night. She raised her paw to take another step, when a loud 'snap!' split the clearing's fragile silence. The mouse squeaked and raced under a root to hide. Flameclaw looked down at her paw and saw a broken twig. "Badger-dung!" she cursed at her foolishness and horrible hunting skills. A shrill, ear-splitting, scream broke the truce of silence like a badger's paw smashing the ground. Flameclaw gasped when she recognised the familiar screech of the screech owl that had lived in Bigoak for since the elders were kits. Flameclaw's fur stood on end. Should she go investigate? Or go to camp and gather a patrol and investigate as a group? Flameclaw pelted back to camp, fur spiked up like kit-fur. She wasn't brave enough to face whatever caused the sound was alone. She crashed into camp, panting. "Eaglestaaaaaaaaaar!" she screamed. "He's out on patrol, Flameclaw! What is the matter?" Nettlefur padded up. "The owl! Something's wrong!" Flameclaw breathed urgently. Nettlefur thought for a moment, then nodded. I will send out a patrol to check on the owl. Whatever it is it can't be too bad. That owl is very strong." Nettlefur meowed, showing his scarred tail. When Nettlefur was just an apprentice he had climbed into the owl's hollow and stolen the owl's mice, but that did't end so well for Nettlefur. He was lucky to have come out alive after the owl was done with him. Nettlefur turned to face the warriors den, where some warriors were lounging about. "Goldenglow, Fireant, Juniperleaf, and Nightleaf! Go over to Owl Tree and make sure nothing's off!" he called into the den, voice slightly echoing in the stone cave. The four warriors sluggishly padded out of the den, each reflecting each other's sleepiness. It was already sunhigh, and every-cat was beginning to stir in their nests, if they weren't already awake. Flameclaw turned to Nettlefur. "Why can't I go with the patrol? I was the one who heard the screech." she meowed. Nettlefur turned his steady amber gaze to her. "You look shaken up enough already. Get some fresh-kill and calm yourself down for a while." Flameclaw realized her fur was spiked up and her eyes were so wide they looked like a terrified kit's. Flameclaw turned her head and flattened down her fur with a few quick strokes of her tongue. When she was pleased with how her pelt looked, she turned and padded over to the fresh-kill pile, quickly choosing a small shrew. She spotted Hollyshade munching on a robin in the corner of camp, redish pelt shining in the sunlight. Flameclaw bounced over, all worries forgotten. "Hey, Hollyshade!" she purred and sat down beside him. "Oh, hey Flameclaw." Hollyshade replied with a smile "I heard about the owl thing. Do you know what happened?" Flameclaw twitched her whiskers. "Nah, I didn't want to get hurt. How'd ya know so fast? Been gossiping with the elders again?" Hollyshade had been known for his kindness to the elders, always changing their bedding and bringing them prey, no wonder the apprentices were so lazy. Hollyshade was one of the younger warriors, only about two or three moons older than Flameclaw. He purred loudly. "I saw you run into camp and talk to Nettlefur, then heard Berrytail complaining on his way out of camp." Flameclaw twitched her whiskers in amusement. "Sounds like Berrytail to me." The camp around them was beginning to bustle around with Nettlefur aranging patrols and cats waking up. Flameclaw took a bite of her shrew, enjoying the salty flavor. The warm new-leaf sun warmed her pelt, making it shine. Hollyshade stood, parting his jaws in a huge yawn as he stretched. "I'm going to go over to Nettlefur and see what I'm doing today." he flicked his tail and padded away. Flameclaw nodded to him and turned her attention to the entrance of the camp, eager for the patrol to return from Bigoak so she could know what had caused the owl to scream. She sat there for a long while until she began to grow insanely impatient. She really wanted to know, but she couldn't disobey orders from someone with a higher rank. She heard pawsteps and grew excited and purred a little to herself. That quickly stopped when the warriors bashed their way through the barrier into camp, yowling as loudly as they could. "THE OWL IS DEAD!"